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The Carmelite Desert Houses were solitary monasteries that lived the primitive ideal of the Carmelite eremitic tradition within the Discalced Carmelites. These deserts were hermitages originally founded by Venerable Thomas á Jesu in Spain in 1592. They were strictly cloistered monasteries in imitation of the original life of the first hermits on Mount Carmel in Palestine in the 12th century.

History of the Founding of Desert Houses
Originally, Thomas requested the foundation of solitary hermitages from the first general of the order Nicholas Doria. Doria refused since he believed the best men of the order would retreat to the solitude of the desert. In 1591, Thomas of Jesus left his plan for the desert houses on a table where another priest saw it and asked Doria for permission, which he attained. On August 17, 1592, three friars founded the desert at es:Desierto de Bolarque, in Bolarque, Spain. They continued to found 22 desert houses total throughout Europe and even Mexico by the 17th century.

The Observance at the Desert Houses
The purpose of the desert house was to live the strictest eremitical life where the Carmelites would get a taste of the purely contemplative life within a Cloister, away from any apostolate. This allowed the Carmelite men to experience what was seen as the higher life of contemplation away from active works, which the Carmelite nuns lived perpetually in the cloister.

To accomplish this, the desert houses were founded in mountainous regions away from cities, where the terrain imitated the location of the first monastery on Mount Carmel, where the prophet Elijah lived in solitude in the presence of God. The mountainous land was essential for preserving their hiddenness and also supporting their mystical lives. The next step of preserving solitude was the solid stone cloister wall that surrounded the entire monastery and provided the strictest enclosure. The front entrance to the cloister had a gate house that served to keep people out, yet provide visitors a place to contact the Carmelites without disturbing their enclosure and solitude. They had papal enclosure and would do no outside apostolate since their life was one of strict solitude. They also had grills in their speak rooms to talk to guests, turns to exchange goods with the outside, and their short time of speaking with outsiders was extremely limited. These grills still exist in the historical Las Batuecas desert. There was a chapel and refectory in order to fulfill the Rule of St. Albert according to the Innocentian rule. There were likewise a library for study and spiritual nourishment, along with a chapter house for correcting the observance. Each Carmelite would live in an individual separate hermitage with a stone wall around the outside for added solitude and a simple garden. There were 24 – 32 hermitages, each dedicated to a specific saint. Strict silence was kept and the religious worked hard in manual labor during the day to practice poverty and keep themselves occupied. There were 24 priests, four of whom were permanent and the other would spend 1 – 3 years at the desert. There were also 6 lay brothers at most.

The Desert Houses Today
There are only two desert houses today within the order. One is at Las Batuecas in Spain. The other is in Roquebrune, France.

Outside the Discalced Order are the Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel in the United States who live the same observance with a stone wall, strict cloister and enclosure in the mountains, individual separate hermitages and the full Carmelite strict eremitic observance.

Spain

 * Bolarque desert or es:Desierto de Bolarque
 * Las Batuecas or es:Monasterio de las Batuecas
 * Las Nieves
 * Cataloniar
 * Las Palmas or es:Convento Carmelita del Desierto de las Palmas

France

 * Roquebrune

Austria

 * Mannersdorf

Italy

 * Varazze

Poland

 * Czerna

Mexico

 * Santa Fe